Wednesday, July 27, 2011

oh man.. he's naked again. he got wet during dinner, so insisted his clothes come off. then after dinner he really wanted to hold Veda. But then he laid down. it was cute nonetheless. cuteness.that's love right there. he's sharing his BLANKIE with her. his most prized and important possession. super baby. we're so mean.

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

you gotta love little brotherssad that this is blurry... he got her!the problem is when she gets him back... which she does. he has swim trunks on-- but doesn't believe me. they are his 'soccer shorts.' he wanted them off... and i was not about to help. so my little boy who usually does not self-dress or undress, took matters into his own handshe showed me.

Monday, July 25, 2011

Hendrix has discovered super heros. He calls them 'super power guys!' and it's about the cutest thing ever. so i decided to make the kiddos some super-power-guys outfits. They are not done-- I have one more cape to make-- plus i was going to put some "Q" and "X" emblems on them. but quinn couldn't wait, so she just put it on.I'm not a completely incompetent sewer, but when I make things like this it sure seems that way!! THey are always crooked or ill-fitting. oh well.. the kids don't care :)sometimes mommy is a super power guy toohipsters r' us

Thursday, July 21, 2011

what in the world is it about going on a trip that makes me have a strong desire to make bags? hmm... I made this book for the kid's books. Because heaven forbid they use a bag we already have. Plus I saw this cute bag on Pinterest that I wanted to make. and i finally made one of THESE. I dreamed of yellow stripes on mine too, but alas-- no IKEA near me. and... (sorry to spoil the surprise). I made one for Julie and mom too. When I started making them, I thought it was a great idea-- then 1 bag into it, I realized it was pretty ambitious to make three of these suckers. the bottoms are vinyl-- cool huh?

sleep training is going pretty well (despite the fact that she is screaming as i type this). She usually has been crying for no more than 20 minutes when I put her down for a nap. And usually it's less than 10. Today she even took a 2 1/2 hour nap-- and she hasn't done that at all since I started sleep training her on Sunday. She'll put herself to sleep, but only sleep for 20-30 minutes. The past two nights she has even only woken up ONCE to nurse. So even though she is crying right now-- who knows why-- she is doing awesome!! There is an end in sight :)And I love that when I put her sleep, she lets me cuddle her and put her little face in my neck. Nothing better than a baby sweetly breathing in your neck. ha. :)maybe there is just nothing better than a sweet baby. i asked quinn today if we should have more babies at our house. she said "YES!! forty five!" I asked her where in the world we would put 45 babies-- she just giggled, and said in Veda's room. (and no-- I'm not gonna have 45 more babies) :)

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

I know what you're thinking. How can this sweet little thing get any cuter??you pierce her ears :)i had a hard time getting a good picture of it yesterday. I'll take some more today. She looks pretty adorable though.and she handled it like a champ. I've been nervous about getting it done, but it was NO BIG DEAL. Quinn was three when we got hers done (but she had so much hair as an infant I felt like she didn't need earrings). Having it done on a three year old was NOT fun. She was ticked off for a good hour. Veda on the other hand, cried for maybe 30 seconds, then was totally fine, and totally cute!!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

veda went from being easy to rock and put to sleep-- to mad, crying, over-tired, and impossible to get to sleep in a matter of three days. So the sleep training begins. i've been dreading it, and actually hoping that I wouldn't need to do it with her. But when she WON'T go to sleep, no matter what I do-- I've gotta teach her to do it on her own! I actually did it earlier with my other kids-- but I think they needed it a little earlier than she has. This morning is our first attempt. Obviously it will be a tough few days-- and I have had a pit in my stomach since I decided yesterday that we needed to just do it. I kinda wanted to wait until after vacation in a couple weeks since who knows what that'll do to all our hard work. but I can't wait, yesterday was literally impossible, and her nights have turned into a giant nightmare. She's been worse than a newborn. I've been up with her at LEAST 3 times-- but usually 4 or 5 (for a week). I'm a zombie....

I swear by the book: Healthy Sleep Habits, Healthy Child. It's the best. And I honestly know that I'm doing the right and best thing for her. But since Veda hasn't really beed a crier at all her whole life, it's really hard that she's already been screaming her head off for 25 minutes.

So this was my own little encouraging pep talk. I'm doing the right thing, I'm doing the right thing, I'm doing the right thing. :)

Friday, July 15, 2011

I've been thinking a lot about being a mom lately. Do you want to hear some random thoughts? if not, skip to the next post. I am SO lucky. I love my kids. Like, really love my kids. I've been trying really hard lately to find balance in my life. Having three little kids takes a lot of time and energy. I spend all day wiping bums (Quinn's too-- but only because I'm slightly a control freak about some things. she's capable of wiping herself, and does sometimes if she has to. But I usually do it). It seems like that between wiping cute little bums, fixing meals, cleaning up meals, getting snacks, drinks, breaking up disagreements, applying sunscreen, tying shoes, finding blankies, putting kids down for naps and cleaning up the chaotic mess that all these things create, there is no time left!! I've read a few articles lately about keeping marriages strong, and they ALL say to put husband first-- kids next. how do you do that?? someone teach me. not only do I want to have better balance between caring for my kids and husband, but I feel like I lack the balance with the other things in life that make me feel fulfilled. And let me tell you-- i MAKE time to sew/etc., but I usually have a kid on my lap or Quinn is 'helping' me or someone is crying. And I've also read lately that as mom's we should multi-task LESS. when we are playing with our kids, we should ONLY be playing with our kids, not on the phone too or checking our email or putting on our make-up. I'm fairly certain that if I multi-tasked less, my house would be even more of a disaster than it already is and my kids would never have books read to them, and I would never blog (since I usually blog while I'm nursing the baby). so how to do all of you perfect mom's out there do it?? you know who you are. teach me. And honestly, I feel like I've come a long way in managing my stress. My life has been WAY less stressful since I've had Veda. I haven't been working hardly at all, and let me tell you-- my stress level is a lot lower. My day doesn't revolve completely around the clock. Even though that stress has gone down, I still have stress in other areas. I stress about my house being a mess. I stress about my kids getting along like they should. I stress about their behavior during playdates. oh man... I could go on and on about this. Dave has been telling me for a LONG time that Quinn isn't socialized enough. It's true in a way. I don't have a lot of play dates for her. Maybe because I always stress about being home for nap time. and I stress about my kids getting sick. And we've definitely had enough of stress about our kids and their health issues. I don't know if anyone remembers Quinn health issues, that was not fun. And of course more recently Hendrix's. but even if I wasn't worried about my kids getting sick, we probably don't have enough play dates. I've actually had quite a few more lately, so we'll see if I keep them up or not. But having more play dates makes me realize a couple of things. one-- that my kids can be naughty and crazy, and two-- that other kids are very naughty and crazy too. So how do I find the balance between letting my kids play with friends, and teaching them to good to others, and for them (and me) to deal with other people's kids? and the fact that I'm actually a home body and am just fine keeping us in our little bubble :)and honestly-- despite my recent realization that I need more balance in my life- I'm happy. I am blessed. I just want my house to be clean, my kids to be happy and cared for, my husband to be happy and cared for, and time left over for ME. is that too much to ask? I love being a mom, and I wouldn't have it any other way. Hopefully someday I'll figure it all out.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

this little boy loves to be silly. wear a backpack, silly shoes, or hats, or sunglasses. he wore his backpack (full of cars) just to walk to the mailbox this afternoon.in quinn's sunglassesand one of quinn's shoes (he had this on for at least an hour)veda's 4 month stats:16.5 pounds: 83rd percentile25.5 inches long: 64th percentileand 100% perfecta CUTE headband that i made veda. and it's too small. sad. i can't always get the sizing right. so now i have about 10 headbands that are not the right size.. :( three of my favorite things about this picture1. quinn's cute little scrawny body2. her swimsuit3. her left hand

Monday, July 11, 2011

quinn has turned into quite the little giggler. it's super cute. she giggles about everything. the simplest things will crack her up. i love it.Veda being cutei made some headbands. i think i have a problem. i can't stop. hendrix picked these all by himself. (at eight in the morning even). if i leave him unattended in the backyard for more than a few minutes he picks some peas. they are about done now-- sad. and yes-- boots again. i swear he lives in rain boots.and just quinn and hendrix playing. where do they come up with these things?